Traci BohYou don’t have to know everything…

Since I work directly with women on a daily basis helping them to understand their fertility cycle, I thought I was very well prepared to support my daughter with her transition into womanhood.  While I feel I did a great job preparing my daughter for the physical changes, there have been times I have struggled with the logistics of supporting her and been surprised by questions I was not prepared to answer.

Feminine hygiene products have really changed since I started my period in 1986.  Suddenly I realized that every month I was making choices about the products I use with a 1986 mentality, which wasn’t the most helpful for my 13 year old daughter.  I wasn’t prepared to help her determine what products would be ideal given her age, weight, activities, etc.  What would feel most comfortable?  What would work best?   What concerns would she have?

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Katie HoggIt all started in 1985 when, at age 10, my first period arrived. It was nothing particularly memorable. I remember my mum gave me a sanitary towel and I had a bath.

Shortly after this happened my parents divorced and I now lived with just my dad.

Age 12 – My periods had become very heavy. I often leaked through my clothes and I was very embarrassed. Several times I was at school with no other clothes to change into and had to walk around all day with a jumper or coat wrapped around my waist to disguise the marks on my clothes. I didn’t feel comfortable talking to my dad about it so I just suffered in silence.

Around this time I also started to be bullied (we had moved to Scotland where my dad is from and my English accent made me a target for abuse). At 13, I had gone back to England to visit my mum and decided to stay there as I was becoming too distressed from the abuse.

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My periods started the week before my 11th birthday. They weren’t painful or heavy to start with but they were irregular and a bit of a nuisance, which I guess is pretty normal in the beginning.

By the time I was 12 they had gotten much, much worse and were heavy and painful. The pain got so bad it was causing me to vomit and pass out, I was getting migraines, and I was missing school because of it. I would spend my time curled up on the bathroom floor waiting for the pain to pass. I went to my GP who decided to put me on the contraceptive pill and give me mefenamic acid (Ponstan). I also got tested for anemia because the bleeding was so heavy, but that came back negative.

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gemma binnsHi, my name is Gemma Binns and I live in Liversedge, West Yorkshire in England.

Here’s my story. I started my period when I was 10 or 11 and straight from the get go they were bad. Very painful and heavy, however they started off fairly regular so my mum decided not to do anything about it.

By the time I was 13 I was having periods every 2 weeks at which point my mum took me to the doctors. All they said was I was still young and it would take time to regulate and that some women have more painful periods than others. But he still put me on the pill.

I remained on the pill until I was 22. My periods were still very painful and heavy throughout my time on the pill. I came off the pill as me and my fiance were trying for children. My periods from that point got worse and worse to the point where I was only going a week without bleeding and there wasn’t a moment when I didn’t feel pain.

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Carolyn West Bio PictureA slap in the face.

When I think about a girl’s first period, that’s what comes to mind. A slap in the face.

When I was young and had recently started menstruating, I remember having a conversation with my cousin. She asked if my mother had slapped me in the face? WHAT? Slapped me? My mother had never touched me. She went on to explain that she had been visiting with our Grandmother when she first got hers. She got slapped.

I was horrified and thankful that I wasn’t staying with my Grandmother when it happened to me. Why the slap? Different sources say it is either a way of bringing blood to the face to celebrate fertility… or it’s to shame the girl. Either way, a slap is a slap and is not a great way to start off this period (no pun intended) in your life. It’s one of those Jewish traditions that have been passed down through the generations and nobody really has a clue where it originated or why.

Other countries and religions have traditions as well. In some countries menstruation is celebrated by building the woman a home, making an animal sacrifice, preparing a festive meal or hiding the woman away until she is “clean” again. READ MORE… »

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